Gone
by RedWing0109
Summary: After a failed mission proven to be a trap, the Team must deal with the steady disappearance of their members. As their numbers dwindle, can they uncover the villains behind the plot? Or will a shocking revelation destroy everything they thought they knew? REVISED version of an old story I started a year ago by the same name!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The darkness was impenetrable. It was all encompassing, surrounding Robin with its suffocating blackness. Robin took a deep breath and looked to his left, squinting in a vain attempt to see. His night vision failed to lessen the blackness around him. Robin struggled to keep his breathing calm, fighting the panic that instinctively came with the loss of sight. It was times like these that he found himself once again envying Superboy's powerful hearing abilities and enhanced sight, although it was unlikely that even the Boy of Steel could see in this darkness.

_Team, check in._ As leader, it was now Robin's duty to make sure everyone was alright, and to find out how far this darkness reached. _Is anyone else encompassed by a suffocating blackness?_

_No blackness out here, bro,_ Wally, Robin's best friend reported. _Artemis and I are almost totally bored out here. Emphasis on the almost._

_Wally!_ Artemis exclaimed, but slight annoyance wasn't the only emotion to be found in her voice. Robin had to struggle to keep a burst of laughter from alerting any possible enemies in the area to his location.

_There's nothing out here,_ M'gann reported. _The whole block is deserted._

_Be on your guard_, Robin cautioned. _Aqualad, Zatanna, anything to report?_

_We are surrounded by the same darkness,_ Kaldur reported. _Other than that, we have found nothing of consequence._

_This darkness isn't natural,_ Zatanna added even though Robin could already guess as much. _I have a feeling we are dealing with sorcery._

The hairs on the back of Robin's neck stood up, and again he had to fight down panic. Something wasn't right here, and he was incapable of discovering what it was. Hands outstretched in front of him, Robin slowly walked forward until he hit a wooden barrier made up of the oddly uniform crates of the warehouse he and the Team was supposed to be searching.

_Something's off about this place,_ Robin thought, momentarily forgetting he was linked to the Team.

_Well duh,_ Wally replied. _If everything was alright, we'd be back at the cave chilling on our night off!_

Before Robin had a chance to respond, a very familiar loud cackle split the air. _The Joker!_ Robin crouched down, trying to make himself as small and hidden as possible incase his enemy was nearby. In the darkness, it was impossible to pin down where the sound had come from.

A powerful mental scream cut through Robin's mind, and he instinctively grabbed at his ears to try and block out the noise. The sound was sustained for about ten seconds before it was cut off as abruptly as it began. Robin lowered his hands from his ears and found them to be ringing despite the sound being only in his mind.

_Team, check in._ He waited, and the silence that reached him only increased his worry.

Robin brought a hand to his ear and activated his comm. Batman had ordered radio silence, but without the mental link, this was an emergency. "Team, check in."

"Zatanna and I are fine," Kaldur reported.

"All good out here," Wally reported. "What the hell happened?"

Robin waited a moment for Conner and M'gann to respond, and when they didn't, he said, "KF, go check on the bio-ship.

"You got it, Rob." Robin waited breathlessly in the darkness for his best friend's report. Something had happened to Conner and M'gann, he was sure of it, but he couldn't imagine what would have such a profound effect as to completely shut off the Team's mental link. Kid Flash returned. "Dude, you are so not going to like this."

"What is it?" Robin was impatient, and the need to speak aloud was making him more and more nervous with each passing second.

"The bio-ship crashed, Wally reported. "It's badly damaged, but I think it's still flyable. Maybe."

Robin knew Wally wasn't telling him everything. "And?"

"Miss M's missing," he stated. "Supey's here, unconscious, but I can't find M'gann."

* * *

Instantly, the darkness surrounding Robin lifted, and he was blinded by the blaring white of his night vision. He scrambled to shut it off and blinked away the spots in his eyes. His back was pressed into a corner created by the crates, but otherwise he was out in the open for anyone to see. Footsteps were approaching in the distance, and, unsure of who they belonged to, Robin jumped up and began to climb the wall of crates.

"Come out, come out, Boy Blunder! It's time to play!" The mocking call was punctuated with a too loud cackle, and Robin redoubled his efforts to make it to the top.

When he reached the top, Robin leapt over the void below him onto another stack, fleeing the sound of his mentor's greatest enemy. He had no idea where he was going, and the warehouse was so large that he could only see the four walls in the distance, but he had no idea where the doors were. In his panic at the sudden darkness earlier, Robin had stupidly gotten himself lost.

When he finally felt he was far enough away from the Joker, Robin descended back into the maze of crates and activated his comm. "Team, evacuate to the rendezvous point," he ordered. "KF, help Superboy if he needs it."

"I don't need any help!" Superboy growled.

Robin was about to order radio silence except in extreme emergency, but he was cut short by a sadistic laugh from directly behind him. He whirled around just in time to dodge a knife swipe to his chest.

"Talking to your little friends, bird brat?" the Joker laughed.

"What are you doing here, Joker?" Robin demanded, trying his hardest not to let fear creep into his voice. Out of all the villains he had faced with the Team and Batman, the Joker was by far the worst, and even after eight years of being a hero, the clown still made Robin want to crawl into a corner and sob with fear.

"Where's Bats?" the Joker laughed by way of reply. "He's going to miss the party." He put his hand in his pocket, giving Robin all the opening he needed.

Robin dove forward and football tackled the Joker, sending him crashing into the ground. "Too bad," Robin replied sarcastically. "I'm sure he would have a ball."

Instead of speaking, the Joker slashed his knife wildly, catching Robin above his left eye. Blood streamed down, momentarily blinding him, and in that moment of weakness, Robin found himself flying through the air and landing heavily on his back several feet away. He pushed himself up on his elbow and wiped the blood away from his eyes in time to see the Joker pull a detonator out of his pocket and depress the button.

Robin dove for it, desperately trying to grab it from the Joker in the hope that he could use it to defuse the bomb since he would have no time to find it. Laughing, the Joker danced out of the way, and Robin stumbled clumsily forward.

"Too late, Robby! This place'll explode in three minutes!" the Joker told him, laughing his most horrible laugh.

Robin's instincts told him to get away, to escape, but he held his ground. "Where's Miss Martian?"

"Why would you ask me?" The crazed clown cocked his head to the side as if he was genuinely confused. "Shouldn't you know? You need to keep better track of you little team."

"Stop playing games, Joker!" Robin screamed. He grabbed his enemy by the lapels of his garishly purple suit and slammed him into the stack of crates behind him. "Where is she?"

"Trying to act like Daddybats, are we?" the Joker taunted. He let out another cackle and Robin felt a sharp sudden pain in his side.

Robin backed away, his hand on the hilt of the small hunting knife in his side. "What—?" he gasped before falling to his knees.

"Only a minute and a half left, Boy Blunder!" the Joker exclaimed. "Good luck finding your way out!" The Joker took off at a run towards the center of the warehouse, daring Robin to try and come after him with his laughter.

Robin slowly pulled the knife from his side and immediately tried to stem the flow of blood with his hand. As much as he wanted to go after the Joker, he knew he had to get out of the warehouse, but he had no idea what direction to go in.

Not even trying to stand, Robin brought his free hand up to his ear and activated his comm. "Aqualad, Zatanna, get out right now. Joker rigged the warehouse to explode." He cringed at the sound of pain in his voice.

"Where are you?" Aqualad demanded. "Are you injured?"

"I—I'm fine," Robin groaned. He attempted to stand but fell back to the floor with a _thump_. "I'm still inside, but I won't make it out in time. Aqualad, I'm making you team leader again."

"Robin, I'm coming to find you," Zatanna told him. The worry in her voice was poorly masked.

"No Zee, get out. That's an order." Robin coughed, and blood splattered on the floor in front of his face.

"Robin!" She sounded like she was crying.

"Zee, I—"

The warehouse exploded, and crates toppled down on Robin, cutting of what he had been about to say.

* * *

**So I don't know if you remember last year when I started a fic called ****Gone****. Well I finished it, and I was unsatisfied with how it turned out, so here is round two! I'm adding new content into each chapter as well as a few entirely new chapters to clean up all the loose ends I left in the original fic (except for the ones I intended to leave). Please let me know what you think of this by way of review! I really love hearing everyone's comments and suggestions!**

**Many thanks to my wonderful beta Jennifer Scott! I don't think I could do this without you!**

**~Red~**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kaldur remained still in the darkness as Robin ordered Wally to find out what happened to Conner and M'gann. He too was just as worried as Robin sounded, but he knew he wouldn't be able to find his way out of the warehouse in time to help. Even the glowing water from his water-bearers failed to shed any illumination on the area around him. Kaldur wasn't even sure if Zatanna was still next to him.

"The bio-ship crashed," Wally reported over the comm. "It's badly damaged, but I think it's still flyable. Maybe."

Kaldur's breath caught in this throat. Wally's uncertainty had to mean that something happened to M'gann.

"And?" Robin queried. The catch in his voice meant that he had the same worry.

"Miss M's missing. Supey's here, unconscious, but I can't find M'gann."

Kaldur uttered a curse in Atlantean. If M'gann was missing than something truly bad had to have happened, something far worse than the bio-ship crashing. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He had barely opened them again before he was forced to shut them again. A bright white light had taken over everything, making it impossible to see. Slowly, he blinked them open, his sharp ears listening for any sound of attack. All was silent.

"Zatanna are you alright?" When he received no reply, he looked around. "Zatanna?" He looked around the area a little bit, trying to determine if she was nearby. She wasn't.

There was another sadistic laugh from deep inside the warehouse, far away from Kaldur's position. A second later, Robin's voice crackled over the comm: "Team, evacuate to the rendezvous point. KF, help Superboy if he needs it." Robin sounded scared.

"I don't need any help!" Conner growled unnecessarily.

Kaldur moved towards where he thought the edge of the warehouse would be, waiting for Robin to give orders. When none came, he took charge. "Superboy, is the bio-ship functional without Miss Martian?"

"Yeah," Conner replied. "I can fly it." There was a pause before he added, "But we're not leaving without M'gann."

"Prep the bio-ship and get to the rendezvous point," Kaldur ordered. "We may not have a choice at this point."

"Who put you in charge of this mission?" Conner challenged.

"We lost Robin's comm feed," Kaldur replied calmly. "I'm leading the mission until we are able to contact him. Get the bio-ship to the rendezvous point." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Artemis, where are you?"

"Almost to the rendezvous point," she reported. "What's going on in there?"

Kaldur didn't reply. Instead he took a few seconds to process everything before saying, "Zatanna, where are you?"

"By the east door," she replied. "You might want to come see this."

* * *

The pain from the scream dissipated as the lights returned. Zatanna muttered a quick spell to herself to ease the blindness created by the white light and found herself alone. Deciding to risk calling out, and not wanting to break Batman's radio silence rule, she called softly, "Kaldur?"

There was no answer. Zatanna pushed down the slight panic that rose and turned a full circle. She was surrounded by crates in a completely unfamiliar part of the warehouse. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if the crates had been stacked that high when they had entered the warehouse. They had been high enough for Robin to swing up onto them—as he had done when she, Robin, and Kaldur had entered the warehouse together—but they seemed to tower over her now.

After orienting herself to her new surroundings, Zatanna began heading back in the direction she thought the door was in. After weaving stealthily though the crates for several minutes, however, Zatanna realized she was hopelessly lost. She had heard the Joker's insane cackle and Robin's order to evacuate the warehouse, and she desperately wanted to get out.

When the Joker laughed again, Zatanna cried desperately, "_Tel em dnif eht rood!_" The crates around her instantly became semi-transparent, and she was able to see the warehouse around her. She looked around and thought she saw the Joker facing Robin towards the middle of the warehouse. She ached to run and help him, but he had faced the Joker before, and she knew she had to follow orders.

She turned away from him and ran towards the door, zigzagging through the mountains of crates. When she reached the door and released the spell, a large vine-like plant appeared with the rest of the crates. It was dark green and looked vaguely like the large plant Poison Ivy had grown in the Bayou Bartholomew when they fought the Injustice League. The plant was dotted with large midnight blue buds. One third of them were open, and from the mystic energy that seemed to surround the plant, Zatanna knew that sorcery had been involved in its creation.

"Zatanna, where are you?"

Zatanna jumped slightly at the sudden sound of Kaldur's voice in her ear. She recovered quickly, however, and replied, "By the east door. You, uh, you might want to come see this.

"I'm on my way."

Zatanna clicked the comm off and began to inspect the plant. Other than its size and the unnatural color of the buds that dotted its entirety, there appeared to be nothing abnormal about it at first glance. However, upon further inspection, the buds did not appear to be an original part of the plant at all. They were sealed on it somehow, drawing off the life force of the plant to live. Zatanna placed a gloved hand on one of the buds and jerked it quickly back. There was a deep magical energy flowing through the plant, so deep and powerful that it caused Zatanna physical pain.

Zatanna reached out towards the plant again, letting her palm hover a few inches over its surface. Even there, she could feel its energy, a dark and malignant force running through the veins of the plant. She muttered a quick spell and let her magic flow over it and examine its purpose.

A hand rested lightly on Zatanna's shoulder, and she jumped, abruptly ending the spell. She whirled around to see Kaldur standing behind her. "Hey," she said.

"I apologize for startling you," he said. He gestured to the plant. "I assume this is what you wanted me to see."

"Yeah," Zatanna confirmed. "I think the buds on this plant are what caused the blackout. There is strong magic radiating from them, but I can't get close enough to figure out who did it."

Kaldur opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of Robin's voice over the comm: "Aqualad, Zatanna, get out now. The warehouse is going to explode in about sixty seconds."

Zatanna gasped, not at the news that Robin had just delivered, but at the tone of his voice. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Where are you?" Aqualad demanded, seeming to have picked up on Robin's pain as well. "Are you injured?"

Robin groaned, and a thump sounded through the comm as if he had collapsed. "I'm still inside, and I can't make it out. Aqualad, I'm making you team leader again."

"Robin, I'm coming to find you," Zatanna said urgently.

"No, Zee. Get out." Robin sounded weaker.

"Robin!" Zatanna was fighting the urge to go after him. A quick spell would be all it took to locate him, and once she reached him, she could teleport them out.

"Zee, I—"

The warehouse exploded before he could finish speaking. Zatanna had just enough time to cast a protective spell over herself and Kaldur before they were buried.

* * *

**Thanks again to all my wonderful readers! It really is great to know that people actually follow this! If you have time, please leave me a review letting me know what you think!**

**Shout out to my wonderful beta Jennifer Scott! Thanks for helping me on this!**

**~Red~**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Despite being four blocks away, the bio-ship was still rocked by the force of the explosion. The light from the blast was brilliant, and Wally had to shield his still-goggled eyes to keep from being blinded. Fire, stone, wood, and ash rained down on the bio-ship.

As soon as the barrage ended, Kid Flash raced to the comm. "Aqualad! Zatanna! Robin!" The only reply he got was static.

Artemis joined his side as he started pressing buttons on the console. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "We'll find them."

Wally only nodded, his attention riveted on the console as Robin's comm signal appeared. "Rob's alive!" he exclaimed ecstatically.

"What about Kaldur and Zatanna?" Conner asked.

Wally was silent, his eyes downcast. Artemis backed away from him silently, collapsing onto the floor. Wally knelt next to her. "Hey, babe, everything's going to be okay." Artemis nodded, appearing to believe the lie for moment. She laid her head on Wally's shoulder, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Superboy placed his hands on the bio-ship's control orbs. "I'm tracking Robin's comm signal now." The bio-ship lifted into the air without its usual grace, and flew slowly towards the warehouse.

* * *

Kaldur'ahm woke once again to be met by darkness, although this time his eyes were quick to adjust to the lack of light. The rubble around him formed a cave of sorts, the ceiling just high enough for him to sit up straight. It wasn't the best idea, however, as his head began to pound. Running a hand over the crown of his head, Kaldur found sticky, half dried blood where he must have been hit by a stray piece of falling warehouse.

Next to him, Zatanna was lying unconscious on her side. She would have looked peaceful, but for her face, which was twisted with the pain of what was probably a migraine. Kaldur placed a hand on her shoulder in a gentle attempt to rouse her, but it was no use. The protective spell she had hastily cast over them had taken too much energy to cast, and she would be out for the next few minutes at least as a result.

Kaldur leaned back against the wall of their mini cave, careful not to lean his head back and further aggravate his injury. He reached a hand up to his ear and pressed the small button on his comm, hoping that one of the others would hear his call. When there was no confirming beep that his attempt had been successful, Kaldur removed the small piece of tech from his hear and saw that it was broken. Reaching across the floor, he grabbed Zatanna's and examined it, grateful to find it in one piece. He placed it in his ear and opened a channel to the bio-ship, hoping that one of his teammates would see its signal broadcasting.

After taking a few more minutes to gather himself and to attempt to rouse Zatanna again, Kaldur turned to the ceiling above him and began to attempt to dig them out.

* * *

Connor brought the bio-ship to a semi-smooth landing just beyond the wreckage of the warehouse. Wally looked up from the ship's console and surveyed the partially burning wreckage. There was almost nothing recognizable left of the warehouse. All four walls had been blown to the ground, and there were pieces of the roof lying several yards away from the blast site. What had once been the center of the warehouse was now a mass of twisted metal, stone, and smoldering wood. It would be a miracle if even one of his trapped teammates had survived the force of the blast.

"Oh man," he muttered hopelessly. "How are we going to find them in this?"

Artemis came up behind him. "Can you get an exact location on Robin's comm?" she asked, and Wally turned to look at her. Her eyes were still red from crying.

Wally reached up and gently brushed a tear from her eye with his thumb. "The signal's too weak," he told her. "There's no way to boost it. At least, none that I know of."

Connor joined them at the console, taking a moment to survey the wreckage. "We should get going," he said abruptly. "I'll see what I can hear once we get outside."

Wally nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should go." The longer they waited, the less chance there would be that any one of their friends would still be alive.

None of them moved, however. Even without M'gann's mental link, Wally could feel the desperation and hopelessness in his teammates, emotions that he too embodied. Four of their members were currently unaccounted for: one was missing, and the other three were buried somewhere beneath the ruins of the warehouse. There was no way that the Team could live on with only Wally, Artemis, and Conner. There wouldn't be that feeling of camaraderie that Wally had always felt when he was around the full team, there wouldn't be anything that would hold them together.

The bio-ship's console beeped, and Wally's head shot down to look at it. "Zatanna's comm is online!" he exclaimed, a little glimmer of hope restoring itself in his chest. The green dot bearing her name was close, and the signal was much strong than that of Robin's comm.

Artemis opened up a channel between the ship and Zatanna's comm. "Zatanna, are you alright? Is Kaldur with you?"

"This is Aqualad," came Kaldur's voice. "Zatanna and I are trapped beneath the warehouse. I have been attempting to dig out, but so far I have been unsuccessful."

"Is Zatanna alright?" Artemis asked, voicing the question Wally was too nervous to vocalize.

"She is unconscious," Kaldur reported, "although it is merely a side effect of the spell that saved our lives."

"We traced your comm signal, and we're on our way to get you now," Wally said. "Keep the line open and call if you need us."

* * *

Rubble shifted around above Kaldur, and a patch of daylight appeared, growing larger and larger until he could see Connor moving away the rubble. Fresh air flooded the cave, and washed over Kaldur, who shivered slightly at the morning breeze. When the whole was finally large enough, Kaldur gently lifted Zatanna through it and passed her to Connor before Wally and Artemis reached in to help him climb out.

"Thank you, my friends," Kaldur said gratefully.

"It was nothing," Wally brushed off, but there was still a look of worry in his eyes. Artemis reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

Zatanna stirred in Connor's arms, muttering fragments of spells and Robin's name before she finally opened her eyes. "What happened?" She looked around at the team. "Where—where's Robin?"

Kaldur shot Wally a worried glance before gently replying, "You passed out after casting the spell that saved us."

Zatanna's expression darkened from one confusion to worry. "Where's Robin?"

Wally looked at the ground. "We… we don't know. We can't get a trace on his comm." He shot a glance to Connor, his face relaying the thoughts of the entire team.

Connor shook his head. "I don't hear his heartbeat."

* * *

**Here's the third chapter! (A day late, I'm so sorry about that. I didn't get my edits done last night like I wanted to.) I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I apologize for the cliffhanger ending there, I'll amend that next chapter! Thanks so much for reading, and please leave me a review! I would love to know what people think of this story!**

**~Red~**


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